WAYNESVILLE — Not since the closing days of the Kenton Trace Conference has Blanchester been able to defeat the Waynesville Spartans.
Just like in the fall of 2000, Blanchester’s offense was too much for the Spartans to handle Friday night. Blanchester scored 34 second quarter points on the way to a 54-35 win.
Blanchester (2-1) snapped a four-game losing streak to Waynesville (0-3).
After a 7-7 first quarter, Blanchester regained the lead early in the second. Hunter Collier carried the ball three times for 43 yards, the last three gave him a touchdown and Blanchester a 14-7 lead.
Waynesville’s next drive resulted in another punt. Blanchester struck through the air, as Tristan Greene tossed a screen pass to Quenton Miller. Good blocking on the outside sprung Miller for a 53-yard score. Blan led 21-7, 5:53 left in the second quarter.
Anthony Carmichael, the Spartan QB, tried to keep his team in the game. He busted through the Blan line for a 41-yard run to the BHS 37. On the next play, he found Micah Schenking for a 37-yard touchdown.
The Spartans pulled within 21-14 with 5:25 left in the half. Blanchester then scored 20 points over the final 5:25.
Collier returned the ensuing kickoff 67 yards to set up a Greene 5-yard TD run. Blan led 27-14.
Blan kicked short on the next kickoff, and it was muffed and recovered by the Wildcats on the Spartan 36. Greene found Quenton Miller on a 36-yard TD pass on the next play. Blan led 34-14.
After another Spartan three-and-out, Blan started at its own 42. A Greene-to-Quenton Miller-to-Collier hook-and-ladder play moved the ball to the Spartan 12.
Two plays later, Brent Hopkins made it 41-14 Blanchester with a 14-yard TD run. Blanchester had 373 of its 513 total yards in the first half.
The lead opened up to 48-21 in the second half, before the Spartans opened the fourth quarter with two quick touchdowns to pull within 48-35.
However, Blanchester would answer. Runs by Collier and Greene set up a 17-yard TD run by Collier that finally put the Spartans away.
While Blanchester rolled offensively in the first half, BHS Head Coach Brandon Sammons wasn’t as pleased with their second half.
“It’s good to win, but we’re always making mistakes and losing things that we focus on,” Sammons said. “It’s great to be 2 and 1. First half it was a good effort – we were executing. Second half we came out flat. We’ve got to work on that.”
Sammons was also concerned with Carmichael and the Spartan offense throwing for 353 yards and gaining 400 in total.
“You never want to give that much up,” Sammons said. “They had some good mismatches. Those two tight ends, those are some good football players.”
The two tight ends were Avery Collins and Schenking. Collins had 162 yards receiving and a touchdown while Schenking had 117 yards and two touchdowns.
Quenton Miller had 178 yards receiving and three touchdowns. Greene threw for 232 of Blanchester’s 305 passing yards. Nick Hopkins accounted for the first 73 – on a wide-receiver touchdown pass to Miller on the first play from scrimmage.
Blanchester will look to regain the King of the Road trophy next week against Goshen. The Warriors broke a long losing streak to the Wildcats 27-13 a year ago.
“We’ve got to come like they’re the biggest game on the schedule,” Sammons said. “If they don’t come prepared, you never know what’s going to happen on Friday nights. So we’ve got to come prepared.”
Summary
Friday, Sept. 9, 2016
@ Waynesville High School
Blanchester 54, Waynesville 35
B 07.34.07.06…..54
W 07.07.07.14…..35
1st Quarter
B – Nick Hopkins 73-yard pass to Quenton Miller (Dakota Penquite kick) 11:42
W – Anthony Carmichael 34-yard pass to Avery Collins (Cameron Anderson kick) 7:17
2nd Quarter
B – Hunter Collier 3-yard run (Penquite kick) 9:50
B – Greene 52-yard pass to Quenton Miller (Penquite kick) 5:53
W – Carmichael 37-yard pass to Micah Schenking (Anderson kick) 5:25
B – Greene 5-yard run (kick failed) 4:49
B – Greene 36-yard pass to Q. Miller (Penquite kick) 4:40
B – Brent Hopkins 14-yard run (Penquite kick) 1:12
3rd Quarter
W – Carmichael 1-yard run (Anderson kick) 4:42
B – Greene 26-yard pass to N. Hopkins (Penquite kick) 3:14
4th Quarter
W – Carmichael 12-yard pass to Schenking (Anderson kick) 11:01
W – Carmichael 12-yard pass to Hunter Brown (Anderson kick) 8:33
B – Collier 17-yard run (kick blocked) 7:43
Team Stats:
PLAYS: B 51; W 65. FIRST DOWNS: B 21; W 17. RUSHES-YARDS: B 30-208; W 25-47. PASSING YARDS: B 305; W 353. COMPLETIONS-ATTEMPTS-INTERCEPTIONS: B 14-21-0; W 25-39-1. TOTAL YARDS: B 513; W 400. PENALTIES-YARDS: B 6-47; W 9-65. FUMBLES-LOST: B 1-1; W 3-1.
Individual Stats:
Rushing (carries-yards): B – Tristan Greene 9-38 TD; Brent Hopkins 6-73 TD; Hunter Collier 15-97 2 TDs. W – Avery Collins 8-12; Anthony Carmichael 14-40 TD.
Passing (completions-attempts-interceptions): B – Nick Hopkins 1-1-0 73 TD; Greene 13-20-0 232 yards 3 TDs. W – Carmichael 25-39-1 353 4 TDs.
Receiving (catches-yards): B – Quenton Miller 6-178 3 TDs; Nick Hopkins 4-51; Dylan Miller 2-22; Brent Hopkins 1-11; Hunter Collier 1-43. W – Collins 10-162 TD; Micah Schenking 7-117 2 TDs; Hunter Brown 2-25 TD.
